Textile winding core



FeB. 17, 1942. E. L. PERRY 2,273,373

TEXTILE WINDING CORE Filed Aug. 14, 1940 fizzjniar l qyerzelupar y Patented Feb. 17,1942

UNITED STAT ES. PATENT' oFFICE- TEXTILE WINDING CORE Eugene L. Perry, Bloomfield, J-.', assignor to I 1 Universal Winding Company, Cranston, R. I., a

corporation of Massachusetts Application August 14, 1940, Serial No. 352,600 5 16 claims. (Cl; mam-z") mon to subject the yarn or thread, so woundupon,

the core, to such treatments as steaming, dyeing, drying, etc. Thus during its intended useful life, the core is subjected to the heavy compressive stress imposed in winding the yarn under tension upon it; to repeated handlings during which it must hold the heavy yarn mass firmly and must not collapse or shrink (which would allow the yarn mass to break down or slip off); its projecting ends are exposed to blows or other mechanical injuries and to the weight of super-.

posed packages during shipment or storage; its 1 tip is exposed to the highly abrasive action of the yarn being unwound therefrom; and when the package is subjected to treatment by steam, liquids or to drying atmosphere the core is exposed to the softening, disintegrating and w'arpi ing effects of such reagents.

For acceptability to the trade'the core must be light in weight, uniform in wall thickness and of standard size, and it must be strong and stiff. I

enough to withstand the various stresses to which it is subjected during use, at least for a tance in attaining proper balance, and true bal- I ance is an essential to acceptability to the trade. When fine threads are wound onto or unwound from a core at high speed, even a "slight wobble imparts a jerk or vibration to the filament and this repeated snap frequently results in yarn breakage. Since the reduction in yarn breakage of the utmost importance to the textile man 'ufacturer, various expedients have been resorted to in attempting to balance such textile cores as previously made. For example, it has been proposed to grind the surface of the core, or, when the core. is made by winding paper about a mandrel, to ensure balance by carefully matching the superimposed layers of paper. It has also been proposed to insertor attach minute metallic weights to the core atthe proper places as determined by a balancing operation, thereby to ensure proper balance. f Obviously, however;*-"

all of these expedients are expensive and add unduly to the cost of production even if successful.

Such cores have previously been made in accordance with variousrnethods, sometimes from sheet metal alone, or from wood turned in a lathe, but by far the greater part of such cores are made from paper or some other paper-1ike or organic sheet material, since such materials are cheap and provide cores which are reasonably light in weight. 5;

It has been proposed heretofore to prepare I such cores by a simple moulding operation from circle; the core so constructed is unbalanced una plastic material, but such prior moulded cores, without reinforcement, cannot be depended upon to stand up underi the conditions of use, except theybe made with walls, of such thickness that they become unduly heavy and cumbersome. Even such abnormally thick-walled cores will not withstand the action of such reagents as steam or liquids for any appreciable time without swelling and disintegrating. In the past, cores have sometimes beenmade of a, relatively soft pulp material with reinforcements of metal or other hard substance at such portions of the core as are most subject to wear. This, however, is undesirable both from a cost standpoint and from that of durabilitysince the reinforcing material tends to loosen from the body of the core during use.

It has also been proposed (and very widely practiced) to make such a core from a strong, hard, sheet material, such as kraft paper, thin cardboard or the like, wound in a spiral about a mandrel, the several convolute turns of the spiralbeing united by means of adhesive. When the core so made is ,of conical form, the tip or small end is usually finished to make it smooth, for example by the application of lacquer or a metal cap. While cores made by winding a sheet of paper or the like are quite strong and stiff without being unduly heavy and thick, this mode of manufacture has the disadvantage that it is wasteful of material since the core, if conical, cannot be wound from straight-edged sheets but must be wound from sheets out to the arc of a less,'in winding, a degree of care, impractical as a commercial procedure, be employed, and-even then further steps of balancing are necessary to make the core acceptable; the finishing of the tip is difficult by reason of the arrangement of the spiral layers at the tip, and after finishing, by usual m thods, the tip tends to become distorted during use, particularly when subjected to moisture; the inner surface of such a core is not smooth, by reason of the lap of the first layer over the next 50 that the core does not fit snugly over a mandrel of truly circular form, with resultant difficulties in winding; the outer surface also has a lap at the point where the last winding terminates, thus requiring that, for an outer surface of circular contour in transverse section, the core must be subjected to such an operation as grinding; and although the grinding operation may result in the formation of a velvet or nap surface, sometimes regarded as useful in retainins, the yarn place, such a nap surface is not altogether be depended upon to retain such wiry and slippery materials as rayon.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a core, in particular a conical or elongate truncated conical core consisting predominantly of fibrous material which is seamless, substantially perfectly balanced about its longitudinal axis, having-a smooth inner surface with a uniform wall thickness and which is circular at all cross sections; which is strong and stiff enough to withstand all of the usage and treatment to which it may be subjected during a normal period of life as a support for a yam mass; to provide a core which is capable of withstanding the action of dilute acids or alkalies, ordinary dyeing reagents or a drying atmosphere without rapid deterioration or warping; to provide a core which may have a thread-retaining surface of such a character as to provide tension relief and air space beneath the inner layer of yarn; to provide a core which is light in weight and cheap to construct; to provide 'a core having a smooth, hard and preferably polished integral tip, or which is of such construction as to facilitate the application thereto of a premoulded finish cap, the tip finish being permanent and providing the smoothness and wear resistance essential to a core which is to be used for unwinding yam over its end.

, While the present invention is also of utility as respects cores of cylindrical type, it is particularly advantageous, as respects its more specific features, in its embodiment in a core of tapered form such as is commonly known in the trade as a cone, and in the further more detailed description and in the claims the improved article may be referred to as a cone for convenience in description but without limiting intent. Moreover, as respects its broader aspects the invention is not necessarily limited even to its embodiment in a textile winding core but may find application in the production of any hollow article whose section, taken at right angles to the principal axis, is bounded by two concentric circles, and especially to articles having tapered sides but without reentrant angles.

Other and further objects of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a completed textile cone illustrating one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary diametrical section of the cone shown in Flg. l, but to larger sea-e:

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is 'a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1*;

Fig. 3'- is an enlarged section, on the same plane as Fig. 3, illustrative of the internal construction of the wall of the core;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. l, to enlarged scale, illustratingthe internal structure and the yarn-retaining ribs;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to Fig. 1, but showing a slight modification;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic side elevation showing the invention as embodied in a core of oylindrical form; and

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic diametrical section illustrative of appropriate dimensions for the yarn-retaining ribs.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates a textile winding core embodying the invention, such core being shown as of elongate, truncated conical shape. Cores of this general shape commonly employed in the textile infor supporting yarn packages or masses, particularly when it is desired, as in the knitting industry, to draw off the yarn endwise over the tip of the core, the tapered construction facilitating such unwinding operation.

This core has walls 2 (Fig. 1 predominantly of fibrous material, for example paper stock,

. preferably having its constituent fibers bonded by means of a colloidal substance which is irreversible in phase so that when the core has once been given its final shape, dimensions and finish, it will not soften, shrink r break down if subjected to heat, moisture or the like. Among the substances useful as bonding agents and in imparting the desired characteristics are some of the synthetic resins, although it is contemplated that reasonably good results maybe secured by the use of other bonding materials, for instance, chromated glue' or the like. However, as already noted, the bonding substance employed should be one which, after. completion of the core, is not substantially affected by moisture or by any of the other conditionssuch as heat, subjection to mild alkalies or acids, or even to dye liquors, which are at times used as reagents in treating yarn Wound upon such cores.

The core shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is, as noted, a tapering core, being smaller at its upper end than at its lower end. The upper end is, as usual, finished by turning the end portions of its wall inwardly (Fig. l leaving an opening 5 at its top which, with the inturned edge, provides convenient means whereby the mxtile operator may, by inserting the finger in the opening, pick up the core with its mass of yarn and without touching or disturbing the wound mass. The tip or small end of the cone is preferably provided with a distinctive finish different from that of the body of the cone. Such distinctive finish may be of any desired kind or character, for example it may be merely a special surface texture or the like resulting from appropriate treatment of the material of the cone at its tip portion or it may be the result of the application of a separately formed cap of a suitable material. For instance the small end of the cone itself may be given a high polish and be rendered firm, dense and' smooth, as compared with the surface of the cone body. To this end, the small end or tip, of the cone may be subjected to pressure by the use of properly configured formers and if a high polish be desired, the tip of the cone may further be subjected to theaction of a heated burnishlng implement which rotates-relatively to the core. Such high polish may be enhanced by incorporating into the material from which the cone is formed or by the application to the'surface 01.,

substances such as low melting resins, waxes or the like. -On the other hand, as illustrated in. Fig. 1, .the tip or small end. of the cone may be provided with a preformed tough but thinwalled finish cap 5 designed to provide a polished working surface of acharacter suitable for use with fine or easily damaged threads or 9, respectively. The outer and inner or exposed strata' l and t areh'ard, dense and wear resistant, while the intermediate stratum 9 is less dense and more resilient, thereby providing a cushioning effect and, a high degree'j of tenacity which enables the outer and inner strata, shells or skins to withstand-stresses better than though the entire wall of the core were of the same hardness as the outer and inner skins. These three concentric strata knit together during the formation of thecore and thus constitute an integral mass. 7 Y

As illustrated in. Fig. 3 the fibers which form the outer and inner strata or skins l and 8 are predominantly substantially coaxial and disposed to extend circumferentlally of the core; ideally, the individual fibers adjacent to the exposed surface, at least, of said. inner and outer strata form arcs of circles described about the axis of the core. In these inner and outer layers the parallelly disposed fibers are densely and closely arranged. However, in the intermediate layer 9 the constituent fibers are indiscriminately oriented, that is to .say, they extend in'all directions and are more or less snarled and intertangled and form a mass which is substantially less dense but moreresilient than the layers l and d at opposite sides of it.

While in the abovediscussion it is indicated that the wall of the core comprises three distinct circumferentially continuous circular strata 01" layers 1, 8 and 9. it shouldbe understood that these is no exact line of demarcation between the intermediate layer and therespective inner and outer layers, thesubstantia lly parallel arrangernent of the fibers at the exposed surfaces of the inner and outer layersgraduallygiving way to the indeterminately disposed fibersfof the intermediate layer so that the several layers are integrally merged one with the other and the entire wall thickness may be' regarded'in the broad sense as consisting of a single integrally united, seamless, annular, fibrous mass. It is to be noted that the wall structure thus above described is quite distinct in. itscharacteristics from previous core wall structures in which, .for example, the core wall ismade up by winding 9. piece of sheet material spirally about a mandrel or from such prior proposals as thatjof nesting one preformed shell within another and then uniting the several spirals or nested shells by' adhesive. In accordance with the present arrangement, as already noted, there is no distinct line of demarcation in passing from the inner surface of the core to its outer surface; there are no alternating layers of sheet material and adhesive but, on the contrary, the bonding agent interpenetrates'the entire substance of the wall" ing. Thus the core fits snug and true upon the mandrel or arbor of the winding or unwinding machine.

While the outer surface of the core may also be smooth and is substantially devoid of any longitudinal ribs or fins and, during the later stages, at least, of its formation is a right conical surface, it is preferred in accordance with the present invention to make the completed outer surface kl of such character as to prevent shifting of the yarns thereon even though the yarn be or" a slippery wiry nature such as rayon. To this end, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and '7 particularly, the outer surface may be provided with a series of minute ribs I0 with intervening grooves ii. As

illustrated, the ribs I0 form portions of a continuous helix or screw thread of low pitch, for example, approximately twenty turns per inch, more or lessjextending from adjacent to the lowor end of the core to the region of the cap ti. However, substantially equivalent effects may be obtained by the use of a multiple screw thread, or the yarn-retaining surface may consist of in dependent peripheral ribs each lying in a plane perpendicular to the axis o'f the core, instead of forming the turns of a helix.

Merely as indicative of a useful dimension for such ribs, it is suggested that the distance between the crests of adjacent ribs it may be approximately 0.05 inch (Fig. '7) and that the height of the rib, measured above'the surface defined by the bottoms of the intervening grooves, may be substantially less than one-half the distance between the crests of adjacent ribs. Thus, merely by way of example, the depth of the groove may be 0.007 inch. As indicated in Fig. 4, the ribs and grooves are preferably of curved contour in transverse section.

In accordance with a preferred procedure the grooves ii and the ribs are produced by the application of pressure to the outer surface of the core during the latter stages of its production. Whether produced by pressure or otherwise, the completed article has. structural characteristics substantially as shown in Fig. 4, wherein the fibers constituting the outer stratum T ofthe core body are shown in transverse section as single dots. Assuming that the ribs and grooves are formedby the application of pressure, as sugdensely packed as shown at I 3.

gested, the applied pressure compacts the'fibers of the outer stratum so that the bottom ofthe recess is constituted by fibers of the stratum l which have been so displaced as to become very The result is that the bottoms 'of the recesses of thegrooves have a polished appearance and a hardness, density and consistency closely simulating that of heavily calendered paper. The outer surfaces of the ribs II! have a generally similar consistency and appearance as the bottoms of the grooves,

than anti-slipping surfaces heretofore proposed and produced by abrading or otherwise raising a nap upon the surface of the core.

While as shown in Fig. 1 the ribs I0 form portions of a continuous helix, it is contemplated that these ribs may be parallel and/or discontinuous. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the core I has an outer surface comprising a multitude form parts of a helix, although, as shown, the

ribs of Fig. 5 lie in planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of the core.

In Fig. 6 the invention is illustrated as embodied in a cylindrical core 5", such core having a other ways, such cores including the specific surface finish above described may readily be prepared in accordance with the specific process set forth in greater detail in the copending application of Perry, Serial No. 352,601, filed August 14,

It is to be understood, however, that although the yarn-retaining surfaces comprising the ribs l0 and recesses H are readily embodied in a core having the wall structure hereinabove specifically described, such a yarn-retaining surface, produced by the pressure of suitably configured formers, may be applied to core bodies made in other ways and having a different internal struc-' ture.

It is further to be understood that while certain specific materials have hereinabove been referred to as desirable, the invention is not limited to these particular materials but that other and equivalent substances and arrangements of parts are regarded as within the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I c aim:

1. A seamless textile winding core predominantly of organic fibrous material and having hard and dense inner and outer surface layers compacted by pressure and an intermediate layer of lesser density, the constituent fibers adjacent to the inner and outer surfaces of the core wall being approximately parallel and extending circumferentially and the fibers forming the intermediate layer being indiscriminately oriented, the wall of the core being of integral construction in which the several layers merge imperceptibly and being of substantially uniform thickness and comprising a binding medium extending as a colloidal network throughout the entire thickness of said wall, the core being balanced about its major axis.

2. A seamless hollow textile winding core predominantly of organic fibrous material,'said core comprising a plurality of concentric strata integrally united and imperceptibly merging each with the next, the constituent fibers adjacent to the outer and inner surface of the core extending circumferentially, and a binding medium extending as a colloidal network throughout the entire thickness ofthe core wall, the core being balanced about its major axis.

3. A hollow textile winding core predominantly of organic fibrous pulp but comprising a binder, said core comprising a plurality of seamless concentric annular layers each layer being integrally joined and imperceptibly merging throughout its periphery with the adjacent layer, the exposed layers being hard, dense, and resistant to deformation and the intermediate layer being less dense and more resilient.

4. A hollow/seamless article of the class described consisting predominantly of an integrated mass of organic fibrous material, said article comprising a plurality of layers, imperceptibly merging with one another, the constituent fibers which lie adjacent to the inner and outer surfaces of said article extending generally parallel to each other and predominantly in a circumferential direction while the fibers which are included between said inner and outer surface layers are indiscriminately oriented.

5. A seamless hollow winding core having concentric conical inner and. outer surfaces, the core being of fibrous material and comprising inner and outer strata in which the constituent fibers extend predominantly in a circumferential direction, and an intermediate stratum in which the fibers are indiscriminately disposed, the several strata being integrally joined.

6. A seamless hollow textile winding core comprisingfibrous organic material and a binder, said core being dense, moisture-resistant and balanced with respect to its major axis, the wall of the core including inner and outer strata in which a. majority of the constituent fibers approximate arcs of concentric circles, and an intermediate stratum Whose constituent fibers are indiscriminately oriented.

7. A seamless hollow article having concentric inner and outer surfaces,- said article being predominantly of paper stock but including a resinous binder, the peripheral Wall of the article comprising inner and outer strata in which the constituent fibers extend predominantly in acircumferential direction and an intermediate stratum in which the fibers are indiscriminately disposed, the several strata merging imperceptibly with'one another to form an integral structure, and the binder extending as a colloidal network throughout the entire thickness of the wall of the article. 8. A seamless hollow article having a peripheral wall of annular transverse section, said wall being predominantly of fibrous organic material but including a colloidal binder of a kind which becomes irreversible in phase after it has set, the peripheral wall of the article comprising inner and outer strata and an intermediate stratum, the fibers extending predominantly in a circumferential direction in the inner and outer strata and being indiscriminately oriented in the intermediate stratum, the binder being in set condition and forming a colloidal network extending throughout the thickness of the wall.

9. A seamless, fiangeless, elongate, hollow tex- A file core predominantly of organic fibrous material but including a colloidal binder, the wall of the core being annular and of substantially uniform thickness whereby the core is balanced about its longitudinal axis, the wall of the core comprising three concentric strata imperceptibly merging with one another, the fiber forming said strata being so disposed ,that the outer and inner strata are relatively harder and denser than the intermediate stratum and the binder extending as a colloidal network throughout the entire thickness of the wall.

10. A seamless, fiangeless, elongate, hollow textile cone predominantly of organic fibrous material, the wall of the cone being annular and of substantially uniform thickness whereby the cone is balanced about its longitudinal axis, the wall of the cone comprising three concentric imperceptibly merging strata, the fibers forming said strata being so disposed that the inner and outer strata are harder and denser than the intermediate stratum, and a binder comprising a synthetic resin in set, irreversible phase impregnating the wall throughout its entire thickness;

11. A seamless, flangele'ss, elongate, hollow textile cone predominantly of organic fibrous material, the wall orthe cone being annular and of substantially uniform thickness whereby the cone is balanced about its longitudinal axis, the

wall of the cone comprising three concentric strata, the fibers in'the outer and inner strata being differently arranged from those in the intermediate stratum and so disposed that the outer and inner strata are harder and denser than the intermediate stratum, a colloidal binder in set. irreversible phase impregnating the entire thickness of the wall, the outer surface of the outer stratum being so constructed and arranged as to oppose slippage of yarn thereon.

12. A seamless hollow winding core having concentric conical inner and outer surfaces, the core being of fibrous materialtand comprising'inner and outer strata in which, the constituent fibers extend predominantly in a circumferential direction and an intermediate stratum in which the fibers are indiscriminately disposed, the several strata being integrally joined, the outer surface of the outer stratum comprising circumferential- 1y extending ribs, each rib being smoothly rounded and substantially symmetrical in transverse cross section, said ribs forming successive portions 01' a continuous low-pitched helix extending longitudinally of the core, said helix having approximately twenty turns per inch.

13. A seamless, fiangeless, elongate, hollow textile cone predominantly of organic fibrous material, the wall of the cone being annular and of substantially uniform thickness whereby the cone is balanced about its longitudinal axis, the wall of the cone comprising three concentric strata, the fibers in the outer and inner strata being disposed to extend predominantly in a circumferential direction while those composing the intermediate stratum are irregularly arranged whereby the outer'and inner strata are harder and denser than the intermediate stratum, and a colloidal binder in set, irreversible phase impregnating the entire thickness of the wall, the outer surface of the outer stratum having a multitude of circumferentially extending ribs operative to prevent slippage of yarn lengthwise of the cone.

14. A seamless hollow textile winding core comprising fibrous organic material and a binder, said core being dense, moisture-resistant and balanced with respect to its major axis, the wall of the core including inner and outer strata in which a majority of the constituent fibers approximate arcs of concentric circles and an intermediate stratum whose constituent fibers are indiscriminately oriented, the inner surface of the wall of the core being smooth and devoid of ribs'or fins and of substantially right conical curvature, the outer surface of the core being hard, dense and water-resistant and formed with a multitude of minute ribs, the ribs being sepparated by intervening grooves, the material forming the bottoms of the grooves having substantially the smoothand dense texture of highly calendered paper.

15. A seamless hollow winding core having concentric conical inner and outer surfaces, the core being of fibrous material and comprising inner and outer strata in which the constituent fibers extend predominantly in a circumferential direction and an intermediate stratum in which the fibersare indiscriminately disposed, the several strata being integrally joined, the outer stratum being impregnated at the end portion of the core with a tip-forming substance and forming an integral tip whose outer surface has a smooth polish and a density and hardness characteristic of the core including inner and outer strata in which a majority of the constituent fibers approximate arcs of concentric circles and an intermediate stratum whose constituent fibers are indiscriminately oriented, the outer stratum being impregnated, at the end portion of the core, with a tip-forming substance and forming an integral tip whose outer surface has the smooth polish, density and hardness characteristic of a hot burnished surface.

' EUGENE L. PERRY. 

